Tumble men toy



April 4, 1950 1.. c. TULLGREN ET AL 2,503,142

' TUMBLE MEN TOY Filed Jan. 14, 1947 7 j n [1/ PK \1 n l n. n

.Z. 01 Mlggrew J-B0n7iz'ewz'czJn nveufou Patented Apr. 4, 1950 TUMBLE MEN TOY Lester C. Tullgren, Minneapolis, Mum, and Joseph S. Bonkiewicz, J r., Lodgepole, Nebr.

Application January 14, 1947, Serial No. 721,958

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to toys, and aims to provide a toy of the tumbling type, and one which will be exceptionally attractive and amusing for children of various ages.

An important object of the invention is to provide a toy including a plurality of figured toy pieces, preferably simulating men, which may be placed in upright positions so that when one of the toy pieces or blocks at the end of the line is toppled over, the toy pieces will be successively toppled over, by contact with the adjacent toy pieces.

Another object of the invention is to connect the toy pieces in such a way that when lifting the toy pieces by the end toy pieces of the string, all of the toy pieces will assume vertical positions when placed on a supporting surface.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view illustrating a plurality of toy pieces constructed in accordance with the invention, the toy pieces being connected by a cord.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of one of the toy pieces.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of one of the toy pieces, a portion thereof being broken away illustrating the connecting cord as connected thereto.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the toy comprises a plurality of toy pieces 5, which are constructed to provide wide supporting ends 6 and a circular portion, or head I. The portions I are provided with openings through which the connecting cord 8 extends, the cord having knots 9 formed thereon to contact with the opposite surfaces of the toy pieces 5, at points adjacent to the ends of the openings of the toy pieces 5.

This construction maintains the toy pieces in proper spaced relation with respect to each other along the cord 8.

When using the toy, the ends l of the cord are gripped in the hands and pulled taut. This will 2 cause the toy pieces to assume a true line and they may now be placed on a supporting surface.

When the ends of the cord are released the toy pieces will stand erect in spaced relation with respect to each other.

By touching the toy piece at either end of the string, the toy piece will topple over, engaging the adjacent toy piece, which in turn will topple over, engaging the next toy piece, the remaining toy pieces being successively toppled over.

This action is both amusing and attractive to younger people and affords a great deal of pleasure in operating it.

While the toy pieces may be constructed of wood, or any suitable material, it is contemplated to manufacture the toy pieces of plastic material, the toy pieces being of various colors to meet various requirements of use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In a toy, a .plurality of toy pieces, supporting legs having wide supporting ends, formed at one of the respective ends of each toy piece, each toy piece having a circular head portion, the said toy pieces having openings extending transversely through the head portions, a cord extending through the openings connecting the toy pieces, the cord-being knotted at opposite sides of each toy piece adjacent to the opening thereof, securing the toy pieces in spaced relation with respect to each other along the cord, whereby said toy pieces are moved to upright standing positions when the cord is pulled taut.

LESTER C. TULLGREN. JOSEPI-I S. BONKIEWICZ, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 286,379 Bogia Oct. 9, 1883 510,216 Waibel Dec. 5, 1893 1,394,096 Lacey Oct. 18, 1921 1,503,262 Brown July 29, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,971 Great Britain 1889 

